Feast of the Chair of St. Peter

February 22

Feast of the Chair of St. Peter

From the 4th Century, the Church has given thanks on this day for the mission the Lord entrusted to the Apostle Peter and his successors. The Latin chair is “cathedra” from which comes our word, “cathedral.”  The chair of the bishop in his cathedral is the symbol of the bishop’s authority and in particular, of his “magisterium” or teaching. When a bishop takes possession of the diocese entrusted to him, wearing his miter and holding his pastoral staff, he is seated on the “cathedra” from which as teacher and pastor he guides the faithful on their journey of faith.

The “chair” of St. Peter denotes the authority that the Lord entrusted to St. Peter the Apostle, the “rock” upon which he built the Church. The Church’s first “seat” was in Jerusalem and then Antioch in Turkey as the apostle made his way to Rome, the center of the Empire which he consecrated by his martyrdom. It became the See of the Successor of Peter in mission not only to the Roman community but to the entire People of God. It is a day of thanksgiving for the Lord’s gift of the Petrine ministry that guides the Church under the successor of Peter, Pope Francis. St. Thomas More affirmed: “May no temporal prince presume by any law to take upon him, as rightfully belonging to the See of Rome, a spiritual preeminence by the mouth of our Savior himself, personally present upon the earth, to St. Peter and his successors.”